What are Shinto beliefs on the afterlife?
by 
AntigoneRising
ANSWERS: 2
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Here's what I found: "In Shinto, the dead body is considered to be impure and dangerous, and thus quite powerful. 'In folk belief context, injuring a dead body is a serious crime...,' according to E. Namihira in his article, Shinto Concept Concerning the Dead Human Body. 'To this day it is difficult to obtain consent from bereaved families for organ donation or dissection for medical education or pathological anatomy...the Japanese regard them all in the sense of injuring a dead body.' Families are often concerned that they not injure the itai, the relationship between the dead person and the bereaved people." http://www.uthscsa.edu/allograft/beliefs.asp Some other links with info that might be helpful: http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/OTHERREFERENCE/RELIGION/MajorReligion.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto http://www.beliefnet.com/boards/message_list.asp?discussionID=513508
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I am not sure that it would be classified as much as an "afterlife" in Shintoism as spirit life. Those who practice this religion believe in "kami" which which are spirits that animate objects. Ancestors are venerated and shown honor. University of Virginia has a great web site for information on religious movements. It is scholarly, accurate, and well annotated: http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu The specific site for Shintoism is: http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/shinto.html from which I quote: "Much of the Shinto religion is based on worship of the kami, or "spirits." The gods described in the myth above are examples of kami, though kami exist in many different forms, both animate and inanimate. The kami are not considered to be good nor evil, but rather serve to protect and sustain."
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